Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to image presentation; and more particularly to content based transitions between images, e.g., for automatic ordering of and transitioning between images in a digital image slideshow.
Description of the Related Art
Digital images may include raster graphics, vector graphics, or a combination thereof. Raster graphics data (also referred to herein as bitmaps) may be stored and manipulated as a grid of individual picture elements called pixels. A bitmap may be characterized by its width and height in pixels and also the number of bits per pixel. Commonly, a color bitmap defined in the RGB (red, green blue) color space may comprise between one and eight bits per pixel for each of the red, green, and blue channels. An alpha channel may be used to store additional data such as per-pixel transparency values. Vector graphics data may be stored and manipulated as one or more geometric objects built with geometric primitives. The geometric primitives (e.g., points, lines, polygons, Bézier curves, and text characters) may be based upon mathematical equations to represent parts of digital images.
Digital image processing is the process of analyzing and/or modifying digital images using a computing device, e.g., a computer system. Using specialized software programs, digital images may be manipulated and transformed in a variety of ways.
An image slideshow is a very popular tool for presenting private and other image collections as a presentation or screensaver on computer systems, digital photo frames, in documentary movies, etc. Common (prior art) slideshows use arbitrary transition effects between images, such as cross-fade and dissolving, and the presentation order is generally chronological, random, or user defined. However, the repetitive and predictable use of a transition effect, and the ordering of images in either a random or a predictable manner, generally become boring to viewers, and tend to be lacking in aesthetic appeal.